Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and a host of leaders visited the residence of former junior foreign minister E Ahamed in New Delhi before his body was brought to his home state of Kerala yesterday.
The Indian Union Muslim League president, who collapsed in Parliament during a customary address by President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, died in hospital early yesterday aged 78.
“Ahamed was a tireless campaigner for the welfare of the underprivileged, his services to the nation will be long remembered,” the president’s office tweeted, adding he “was a friend and colleague of years.”
Known as a friend of the Gulf, Ahamed had a strong bond with the expatriates in the region, coming to their help whenever they faced a crisis during the five decades of his career as a journalist, lawyer, parliamentarian and federal and state minister.
He served as a special emissary of Modi and his predecessors to the Middle East, right from the time of Indira Gandhi in the early eighties. He enjoyed a personal rapport with many world leaders.
Modi also acknowledged his “role in deepening India’s ties with west Asia” and described him as a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence.
“Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala’s progress,” the prime minister tweeted. “The continuous efforts of Ahamed for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered.”
“A veteran parliamentarian and a valued colleague, he served his country with honour and dedication,” added Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party.
Ahamed’s body was flown to the Calicut International Airport in the afternoon and will be buried today morning in his home city of Kannur, family sources said.
Thousands of people paid their last respect to the departed leader at the airport, the nearby Haj House built at his initiative and the League House, his party’s headquarters.
A prayer was held at the Kozhikode beach in the evening.
Governor P Sathasivam said Kerala had lost an eminent leader of the people whose tireless services ranged from boosting the industrial climate of Kerala to upholding India’s diplomatic position in international forums including the UN.
“His death is a great loss to the NRIs, especially in the Gulf,” said Dr Azad Moopen, who heads the pan-Gulf Aster-DM healthcare group.
Ahamed was elected to the Kerala legislative assembly in 1967, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1987. From 1982 to 1987, he served as Kerala’s industries minister.
He was elected to parliament in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009. He never suffered a defeat, and in 2014, contested from Malappuram for a seventh straight time and despite failing health won by a record margin of 1,94,739 votes.
An author of three books, Ahamed also represented India in the UN six times.
His death also witnessed high drama at the hospital where his family members, including his pathologist daughter, Dr Fouzia Shersad, the director of Institutional Effectiveness Unit at Dubai Medical College, and her nephrologist husband Dr Sherzad were blocked from seeing him.
“I don’t see any professional behaviour here. It’s completely unprofessional. Completely unethical,” an upset daughter was seen telling a television channel.
They were allowed in only after Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leader of the Opposition in the upper house of parliament, rushed there past midnight and protested. 
Opposition leaders alleged that the authorities were putting him on a ventilator and delaying the announcement of death to ensure smooth presentation of budget in Parliament yesterday and to preempt call for its adjournment.
“As a son, I am not being allowed to see my father. No one is allowed to go see him or visit him,” his son Rayees Ahamed was quoted as saying in a video posted by a newspaper. “We are perplexed and appalled as to what’s going on.”
Dr Sherzad said doctors at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he was admitted after the cardiac arrest, wanted to carry out ECMO procedures so that he can be sustained by artificial means, without discussing the procedure with his family. 
They family has filed a complaint with the Delhi police.